A group of North Koreans have made a rare defection to South Korea by crossing the sea border in a small wooden boat, according to South Korea’s military. The boat was intercepted near Sokcho, a city 51km northeast of Seoul, after being spotted near the maritime border between the two countries. Four North Korean occupants expressed their wish to defect to South Korea. This type of defection by sea is unusual, as most defectors flee the North through the porous border with China, where they face the risk of arrest and deportation. The number of defectors has dropped significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic, when North Korea tightened border controls. China, which considers North Korean defectors as economic migrants, denied the existence of “North Korean defectors” in its territory. In May, nine North Koreans defected after crossing the western sea boundary in a fishing boat. In 2019, South Korea’s former President Moon Jae-in faced criticism for repatriating two North Korean fishermen suspected of murdering their shipmates while crossing the sea border. A South Korean court later indicted four top officials, including Moon’s head of national intelligence, for alleged abuse of authority in relation to the repatriations.